How to pronounce “empirical”
Say “empirical” in 4 beats
empirical
/ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɛmpɪɹɪkəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- emɛm
- pirpɪstress
- icɹɪ
- alkəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ɛmpɪɹɪkəl/
- Respelling
- em-PI-ri-kuhl
- Syllables
- 4 — em-PIR-ic-al
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: em-PIR-ic-al. “pir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/
/ɛmpɪɹɪkəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “empirical” means
- adjective
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
“an empirical basis for an ethical theory”
- adjective
relying on medical quackery
“empiric treatment”
Say it in a sentence
“There is no empirical evidence for any of those claims.”“empirical”, answered
How do you pronounce “empirical”?
“empirical” is pronounced /ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/ (em-PI-ri-kuhl) in American English and /ɛmpɪɹɪkəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pir”. Build it as em-PIR-ic-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “empirical” have?
4: em · pir · ic · al. The beat lands on the second, “pir”.
Is “empirical” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/ (em-PI-ri-kuhl); British English says /ɛmpɪɹɪkəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “empirical” mean?
As an adjective: derived from experiment and observation rather than theory For example: “an empirical basis for an ethical theory” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “empirical”?
Stress the second syllable: em-PIR-ic-al. “pir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “empirical” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.